Praise God in His sanctuary;
praise Him in the sky, His stronghold. (2) Praise Him for His mighty acts;
praise Him for His exceeding greatness. (3) Praise Him with blasts of the horn;
praise Him with harp and lyre. (4) Praise Him with timbrel and dance;
praise Him with lute and pipe. (5) Praise Him with resounding cymbals;
praise Him with loud-clashing cymbals. (6) Let all that breathes praise the LORD.
Hallelujah.
(בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם. יוצֵר אור וּבורֵא חשֶׁךְ. עשה שָׁלום וּבורֵא אֶת הַכּל:
Blessed are You our God, ruler of the Universe creator of light and creator of darkness, maker of peace and creator of all.
That there is none but Me.
I am the LORD and there is none else,
(7) I form light and create darkness,
I make peace and create evil—
I the LORD do all these things.
2nd Blessing after the Sh'ma (Between Bar'chu and Ahavah Rabbah)
תִּתְבָּרַךְ צוּרֵנוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ וְגואֲלֵנוּ בּורֵא קְדושִׁים. יִשְׁתַּבַּח שִׁמְךָ לָעַד מַלְכֵּנוּ יוצֵר מְשָׁרְתִים וַאֲשֶׁר מְשָׁרְתָיו כֻּלָּם עומְדִים בְּרוּם עולָם. וּמַשְׁמִיעִים בְּיִרְאָה יַחַד בְּקול דִּבְרֵי אֱלהִים חַיִּים וּמֶלֶךְ עולָם.
כֻּלָּם אֲהוּבִים. כֻּלָּם בְּרוּרִים. כֻּלָּם גִּבּורִים. וְכֻלָּם עושים בְּאֵימָה וּבְיִרְאָה רְצון קונָם: וְכֻלָּם פּותְחִים אֶת פִּיהֶם בִּקְדֻשָּׁה וּבְטָהֳרָה. בְּשִׁירָה וּבְזִמְרָה. וּמְבָרְכִים וּמְשַׁבְּחִים וּמְפָאֲרִים וּמַעֲרִיצִים וּמַקְדִּישִׁים וּמַמְלִיכִים:
אֶת שֵׁם הָאֵל, הַמֶּלֶךְ הַגָּדול הַגִּבּור וְהַנּורָא קָדושׁ הוּא.
וְכֻלָּם מְקַבְּלִים עֲלֵיהֶם על מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם זֶה מִזֶּה. וְנותְנִים רְשׁוּת זֶה לָזֶה לְהַקְדִּישׁ לְיוצְרָם בְּנַחַת רוּחַ. בְּשפָה בְרוּרָה וּבִנְעִימָה. קְדֻשָׁה כֻּלָּם כְּאֶחָד. עונִים וְאומְרִים בְּיִרְאָה:
קָדושׁ קָדושׁ קָדושׁ ה' צְבָאות. מְלא כָל הָאָרֶץ כְּבודו:
וְהָאופַנִּים וְחַיּות הַקּדֶשׁ בְּרַעַשׁ גָּדול מִתְנַשּאִים לְעֻמַּת שרָפִים. לְעֻמָּתָם מְשַׁבְּחִים וְאומְרִים:
בָּרוּךְ כְּבוד ה' מִמְּקומו:
You are to be praised, our protector, our sovereign, our re- deemer, creator of celestial beings. Our sovereign, Your
name is to be acclaimed forever; You fashion beings that serve You, and Your servants all stand at the edges of the universe, proclaiming reverently with one voice the words of the living God, the sovereign of the universe.
All of them loved, all of them pure, all of them mighty, and all of them in reverence and awe carry out the will of the one who has dominion over them. In purity and in holiness, all of them raise their voices, in song and chant, to praise, bless, glorify, extol, hallow, and celebrate
The name of God, the great, mighty, awe-inspiring sovereign, the Holy One.
Each turns to another as they proclaim their loyalty to God, and each gives permission to the other to hallow their creator; in a clear voice and with sacred speech, together as one, they respond with awe, saying:
Holy, holy, holy is God of Hosts,
the whole world is filled with God’s glory.
With a deafening sound, the ophanim and Hayot Hakodesh rise up opposite the Serafim and proclaim their praise:
Praised is ADONAI’s glory wherever God dwells.
Hevrutah:
Read text 6-- part of the blessings before the shema.
Consider the following questions:
1. What do you think is going on here?
2. Why do you think this part of prayer?
3. What resonates for you here?
(י) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אֵלָ֑י בֶּן־אָדָ֕ם אֶת־כׇּל־דְּבָרַי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֲדַבֵּ֣ר אֵלֶ֔יךָ קַ֥ח בִּֽלְבָבְךָ֖ וּבְאׇזְנֶ֥יךָ שְּׁמָֽע׃ (יא) וְלֵ֨ךְ בֹּ֤א אֶל־הַגּוֹלָה֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י עַמֶּ֔ךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ֤ אֲלֵיהֶם֙ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֖ר אֲדֹנָ֣י יֱהֹוִ֑ה אִֽם־יִשְׁמְע֖וּ וְאִם־יֶחְדָּֽלוּ׃ (יב) וַתִּשָּׂאֵ֣נִי ר֔וּחַ וָאֶשְׁמַ֣ע אַחֲרַ֔י ק֖וֹל רַ֣עַשׁ גָּד֑וֹל בָּר֥וּךְ כְּבוֹד־יְהֹוָ֖ה מִמְּקוֹמֽוֹ׃
(ב) שְׂרָפִ֨ים עֹמְדִ֤ים ׀ מִמַּ֙עַל֙ ל֔וֹ שֵׁ֧שׁ כְּנָפַ֛יִם שֵׁ֥שׁ כְּנָפַ֖יִם לְאֶחָ֑ד בִּשְׁתַּ֣יִם ׀ יְכַסֶּ֣ה פָנָ֗יו וּבִשְׁתַּ֛יִם יְכַסֶּ֥ה רַגְלָ֖יו וּבִשְׁתַּ֥יִם יְעוֹפֵֽף׃ (ג) וְקָרָ֨א זֶ֤ה אֶל־זֶה֙ וְאָמַ֔ר קָד֧וֹשׁ ׀ קָד֛וֹשׁ קָד֖וֹשׁ יְהֹוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃
(3) And one would call to the other,
“Holy, holy, holy!
The LORD of Hosts!
His presence fills all the earth!”
Hear, O Israel
The core of our worship is not a prayer at all, but a cry to our fellow Jews and fellow humans. In it we declare that God is one—which is also to say that humanity is one, that life is one, that joys and sufferings are all one—for God is the force that binds them all together. There is nothing obvious about this truth, for life as we experience it seems infinitely fragmented. Human beings seem isolated from one another, divided by all the fears and hatreds that make up human history. Even within a single life, one moment feels cut off from the next, memories of joy and fullness offering us little consolation when we are depressed or lonely. To assert that all is one in God is our supreme act of faith. No wonder that the Sh’ma, the first “prayer” we learn in childhood, is also the last thing we are to say before we die.
—ARTHUR GREEN (Excerpted from Machzor Shalem)
A Blessing
BY JAMES WRIGHT
Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have come gladly out of the willows
To welcome my friend and me.
We step over the barbed wire into the pasture
Where they have been grazing all day, alone.
They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness
That we have come.
They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.
There is no loneliness like theirs.
At home once more,
They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.
I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,
For she has walked over to me
And nuzzled my left hand.
She is black and white,
Her mane falls wild on her forehead,
And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin over a girl’s wrist.
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.
James Wright, “A Blessing” from Above the River: The Complete Poems and Selected Prose. Copyright 1990 by James Wright. Reprinted by permission of Wesleyan University Press.
Source: Above the River: The Complete Poems and Selected Prose (1990)